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Metro

Grand Central Oyster Bar delays reopening after Hurricane Ida

By
Lisa Fickenscher
Published Sep. 6, 2021, 1:23 p.m. ET
Patrons dine inside the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant in New York, on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007.
The Grand Central Oyster Bar struggled to maintain business under strict dining capacity restrictions in 2020. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Grand Central Oyster Bar is delaying its much anticipated reopening.

After declaring in August that it would be throwing its doors open on Sept. 7 after a nearly 17-month hiatus, the iconic eatery has pushed back the reopening date.

“Due to unforeseen operational issues and delays caused by Hurricane Ida the reopening of the Grand Central Oyster Bar has been postponed two weeks until the week of September 20,” the restaurant’s management said in a statement.

It’s the second setback for the eatery, which reopened for just 12 days in October when COVID-19 was surging again and The Big Apple had restricted indoor dining to 25 percent capacity.

The 440-seat restaurant, located on the lower level of Grand Central Terminal, is used to cramming tourists and commuters into its popular bar and vaulted ceiling dining room, but too few people were coming to the city at that time to make it worthwhile to reopen, management said.

The interior of the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.
The Grand Central Oyster Bar won’t open its doors until “until the week of September 20”, according to restaurant management. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
A plateful of various oysters offered at the Grand Central Oyster Bar.
A plateful of various oysters offered at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The entrance to the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.
The Grand Central Oyster Bar initially planned to open on September 7. effrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The 25 percent indoor dining restriction would have limited the restaurant to just 81 diners, executive chef Sandy Ingber told The Post last year.

But this time, management insists the latest delay “is not COVID-related.”

The restaurant did not immediately return calls for comment.

Oyster shuckers work behind rows of blue point oysters on ice at the Grand Central Oyster Bar
The restaurant insists the spreading of COVID-19’s Delta variant was not a factor in its delayed opening. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

When it does finally reopen, the 107-year-old eatery will have a “full but more limited menu,” according to its August statement, and tables will be spaced six feet apart despite the city not requiring such rules anymore.

“It’s very disappointing for everyone, but we’ll continue to persevere,” management said in a statement about the delay.